May 11, 2012 #everydaymay

Last night my wife and I had a conversation based entirely on our fears. It was very unproductive. After we each acknowledged that, our conversation became much easier to have.

Fear isn’t one of my core issues, but as an insecure creative type I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t something I ever had a problem with. I don’t know how many things I’ve avoided or turned away because of fear, and that’s because fear is a sneaky little thing. Fear is rarely something you think through but instead, react out of. Fear is sneaky in that if it’s not something you’re constantly aware of it’s naturally the first thing that reactions are based on. (Coincidentally, that’s why they’re called “reactions” instead of “responses.”) Partly, I think that’s a survival instinct. Fear should be the initial reaction if a bear attacks you in the middle of the night. It’s no way to live though.

I can remember one time where I was offered the chance to produce an album for a friend of a friend and turned it down for no other reason than I was afraid that I wasn’t up to the task. This was several years ago now, and in retrospect maybe I wasn’t, but I can’t know for sure because I declined the job. One thing is for sure though: I still don’t know 100% if I’m up to the task of producing a record because I’ve still never done it.

So what is it in our collective psyches that “wild animal attack” and “opportunity for something huge/growing/challenging” are somehow equal?